Surface treating wheel



Sept. 4, 1956 GQA. LYON,

suamcs TREATING WHEEL 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Dec. 3, 1951v George Albert Lyon o v i 19.272 75 Sept; 4, 1956 A LYON 2,761,258

' SURFACE'TREATING WHEEL Filed Dec. 3, l95l 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 1271/5 27 22:7 r George A/berz L yon United States Patent SURFACE TREATING WHEEL George Albert Lyon, Detroit, Mich. Application December 3, 1951, Serial No. 259,545 9 Claims. (Cl. 51-195) This invention relates to an abrading wheel and more particularly to a wheel especially adapted for polishing, grinding or bufiing irregular or curved surfaces of a circular object. The term abrading when used in this application is intended to comprehend polishing, grinding, butfing and similar operations.

An object of this invention is to provide a novel surface treating wheel construction which is particularly adapted for abrading axially symmetrical, radially irregular or curved surfaces.

Another object of this invention is to provide a novel surface treating wheel and means for attaching the same to a mounting element.

Yet another object of this invention is to provide an abrading head including means for lubricating or cooling the entire abrading face thereof.

Still another object of this invention is to provide a surface treating wheel of the foregoing characteristics which will more effectively abrade all the indentations in an irregular or curved surface undergoing treatment.

In accordance with the general features of this invention there is provided in a surface treating wheel, a spiderlike abrading member which is preferably made of soft rubber-like material.

Another feature of the invention relates to integral abutments formed at the mounting side of the arms of the abrading member for clamping to a mounting element.

Still another feature relates to providing the abrading head mounting element with apertures opening between the arms of the spider for delivering lubricating or cooling fluid between the arms of the spider.

Yet another feature of the invention relates to providing the abrading head with a disk-like abrading member having a plurality of radial notches therein, the member having abutment strips integral therewith and projecting into said notches at the mounting end of said member and radial clamps overlying said abutments for anchoring the abrading member to 'a mounting element.

Another and further feature of the invention relates to providing conduit means extending through the mounting element and through the clamps into the notches in the abrading member for conducting lubricating or cooling fluid to the notches.

Other objects and features of this invention will more fully appear from the following detailed description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings which illustrate a single embodiment thereof, and in which:

Figure 1 is a plan view of my novel surface treating Wheel;

Figure 2 is a fragmental vertical sectional view taken substantially along the line II-II of Fig. 1; and

Figure 3 is a fragmental vertical cross sectional view taken substantially along the line III-III of Fig. 1.

The surface treating wheel of the present invention is particularly adapted for polishing a circular wheel cover. It is well known in the automobile art that such covers with a highly lustrous outer surface are very desirable. Particularly is this true where the wheel disk is made of stainless steel or has a chrome or nickel finish.

This wheel disk or other piece of work may be supported upon any suitable support for pressing it against the polishing wheel of my invention which is best shown in Fig. 3.

Now while I propose to describe my device as a polishing wheel, it is, of course, to be understood that depending upon the character of the abrading surface of this wheel, it may also be used for polishing, grinding, buffing and the like. In the form as shown herein, the wheel is best adapted for polishing.

Referring particularlyto Figure 3, the reference numeral 10 designates any suitable rotary driving shaft, which may be motivated by any means (not shown), to drive the driven member 11 of my polishing wheel. This driven member 11 is of a spoke formation and is suitably splined and secured to the shaft 10.

Inclined radially and axially forward from the main body of member 11 is a dished portion 13 having on its outer periphery an inturned annular flange 14, at right angles to the portion 13. Positioned between this flange and polishing head 15 are a plurality of generally radial tension springs 16. The inner ends of these springs are attached to and cooperable with a shouldered annular element 17 which includes an inclined portion 18 terminating in a hook shaped shoulder 19. The portion 18 has secured to it a plurality of U-shaped fastening elements 20 to each of which is attached an inner end of the spring 16. Each of the springs 16 has an outer end secured in an eye element 21 adjustably bolted to the flange 14. Thus the springs 16 establish a driving connection between the member 11 and head.

As will be perceived from Fig. 3, the polishing head 15 for the most part telescopes within the dished outer face of the driven member 11, and the innermost shoulder element 17 is located adjacent the bottom of the opening in the driven member.

The hook-like portion 19 is overlapped by an annular abutment ring 22; the end 23 of which is shaped to fit radially over the hook or dog 19. In this manner the head 15 has its inner end pocketed in an undercut pocket in member 11 defined partly by ring 22. The abutment ring 22 is detachably held in a recessed portion of the driven member 11 by means of cap screws 24. It is to be appreciated that in order to apply or remove the polishing head 15 from member 11, the ring 22 must be first detached from the member 11 by the removal of the cap screws. Once the polishing head 15 is in position, with the abutment ring 22 properly seated. and attached to member 11, this abutment ring will limit the extent to which the polishing head 15 can move axially inside of the member 11. Moreover, when the wheel is not in use, the spaced drive springs 16 will hold the hook 19 of the polishing head against portion 23 of the abutment ring 22.

The polishing head 15 includes a main body or mounting element 25 having an outer mounting face which is preferably fiat and circular. In addition, this body 25 of the head has an inner shouldered portion 26 which defines a seat 27 for the shoulder ring 17 which is held on the seat by detachable cap screws 28.

For a more detailed description of the structure and operation of the parts of the polishing wheel described herein, reference is made to my copending application entitled Polishing Wheel, Serial No. l90,l49, filed October 14, 1950, which issued as Patent No. 2,648,178, August 11, 1953.

Mounted on the mounting element 25 for polishing or bufiing or similar operations is a polishing member in dicated generally by the reference numeral 30. For

polishing a wheel disk of the type shown in my aforementioned copending application, the polishing wheel is preferably made of soft rubber impregnated with a suitable abrasive such as emery. Other well known forms of abrading material may be used with equal advantage, depending upon the character of abrading or polishing operations desired.

The polishing member is of a generally disk-like cnfiguration having a plurality of large radial notches indicated generally by the reference numeral 31', which preferably extend through the entire axial extent of the polishing member. More particularly, therefore, in the embodiment illustrated, the polishing member is of a spider-like configuration having outwardly extending arms 32 which preferably extend radially from a central hub portion 33.

If desired, additional smaller radial notches 34 may be provided so that the arms 32 are split into a pair of arms 35 at the ends. Preferably, both the small and the larger notches are utilized in securing the polishing member to the mounting element 15. For this purpose, the arms of the polishing member are provided with angular abutments 36 integral with the arms and projecting into the notches 31 and 34, as best seen in Figure 2. These abutments 36 have axially outer surfaces flush and integral with the remainder of the mounting surfaces 37 of the arms which are adapted to lie flat against the mounting surface of the mounting element 15.

To clamp the abutment legs 36 to the mounting element, V-shaped clamping pieces 38 and 39 fit, respectively, into the small notches 34 and the large notches 31. These clamping pieces have flat bodies 40 and 41 and outwardly flaring flanges 42 and 43, respectively, as best seen in Figure 2. When the body portions are fastened to the mounting elements as by means of bolts 44, the flanges 42 and 43 overlie the abutment legs 36 on each side of each arm to firmly clamp the base portions 45 of the polishing member arms against the mounting element 15. The free axial ends of the arms are, of course, capable of considerable lateral movement, depending upon the flexibility of the material used. The polishing member itself, therefore, is free to adjust itself to some extent to irregularity in the surface to be polished.

The work face of the polishing member is indicated generally by the reference numeral 46. As previously mentioned, this surface may be impregnated with a suitable abrasive. In polishing irregular surfaces, such as an axially symmetrical wheel cover, the polishing member is preferably axially symmetrical and has an irregular polishing face which generally conforms with the irregular surface to be polished.

In order to protect the polishing member, a circular guard or housing shell 47 is provided terminating short of the axially and radially outer margin of the polishing member. The guard 47 is mounted by means of bolts 48 fastening an outturned flange 49 of the guard to the mounting element 1.5.

To supply lubricating or cooling fluid, preferably a liquid, to the polishing member, a circular passage 50 is provided in the shaft connecting with a manifold 51 fixed to the end of the shaft as by means of an apertured stud 52. The abutment shoulders 26 of the mounting element define a space accommodating the manifold 51. The manifold has a plurality of outlet connectors 53 for connection with flexible tubes 54, an axially extending portion of which are seated in grooves 55 in the abutment shoulders 26 and extend through the mounting element body 25 and through the clamping plates 39 to open into the notches 31 for introducing lubricating or cooling fluid into the notches 31 of the polishing member for cooling of the piece being polished.

It will be observed that the abrading wheel may be operated in conjunction with an article to be treated according to the following method. The article is moved axially toward the wheel to bring them into nested engagement while rotating the wheel, and contemporaneously a plurality of jets of lubricating or cooling fluid are delivered generally axially of and through openings or tubes 54 between the segments or arms 32 of the wheel surface, whence said jets alternate with said seg ments. Further, it will be observed that the abrading surfaces 46 of the wheel and the article surface may be resiliently maintained in cushioned contacting engagement, for example through the action of the resiliency of arms 32 and of the springs 16.

It will be understood that modifications and variations may be eifected without departing from the scope of the novel concepts of the present invention.

I claim as my invention:

1. A surface-treating wheel adapted for treating an irregular surface, comprising a treating member of flexible material having an irregular work face generally corresponding intaglio to the irregular surface to be treated and having a plurality of generally radial notches, said member having a mounting face and a plurality of radially extending opposed anchoring abutments integral with said member and extending into each notch adjacent the mounting face for clamping mounting of the member.

2. A surface-treating wheel adapted for treating an irregular surface, comprising a spider-like treating member including a central hub portion and a plurality of radiating arms having at one axial side thereof irregular work faces generally corresponding intaglio to the irregular surface to be treated, said irregular work faces including radially inner and radially outer annularly disposed depressed portion symmetrically disposed about the central hub portion and an intermediate hump portion symmetrically disposed about the central hub portion and extending axially outwardly relative to said depressed portions, said radiating arms having flush mounting faces at the axially other side thereof and having abutment strips integral with said arms and extending laterally of said arms, and said abutment strips having surfaces flush with the mounting faces of the arms.

3. A surface-treating wheel comprising a mounting element having a fiat mounting surface, a spider-like treating member made of resilient material including a central hub portion and outwardly extending arms, said arms having at one axial side an irregular work face generally corresponding intaglio to the contour of the surface to be treated and having at the other axial side a fiat mounting face, said arms having laterally extending abutments adjacent the mounting face, clamps fixed to the mounting surface of said mounting element and overlying said abutments to clamp said treating member to said mounting element, and conduit means extending through said mounting element between the arms for supplying fluid to the irregular work face.

4. A surface-treating wheel comprising a mounting element having a flat mounting surface, a spider-like treating member having a central hub portion and radiating arms with lateral attachment flanges, clamps fixed to said mounting surface and including radially extending body portions extending between adjacent arms and flange portions engaging the adjacent attachment flanges of said arms for clamping the arms to said mounting element, and conduit means extending through the mounting element and clamp body portions to deliver fluid between the arms of the treating member.

5. in a surface-treating machine, a driven member, 'a treating head mounted by said driven member and including a mounting element having a central axial aperture, a drive shaft mounting said driven member and having a passage extending therethrough for fluid, a fluid manifold at the end of said shaft disposed in said mounting element aperture and having a plurality of outlets communicating with said passage, a plurality of flexible conduits connecting with said outlets and extending through said mounting element, and a spider-like treating member having outwardly extending arms mounted on said mounting element and receiving between the arms fluid from said flexible conduits.

6. A surface-treating wheel comprising a mounting element having a flat radially disposed mounting surface for rotation on a central axis, a surface-treating member of flexible solid disk-shaped material having a plurality of radial notches extending in from the periphery thereof to divide said member into a series of spaced radially extending arms, said arms having respective mounting faces at one axial end thereof all lying in a common plane and lying flatwise against said mounting surface of said mounting element, means securing said mounting faces to said mounting surface, said arms being of an axial extent beyond said securing means equal to at least a major portion of the circumferential extent of the arms at the periphery of said member to provide for substantial lateral displacement of the axial other ends of said arms, said arms having working faces at their said axial other ends which define an axially symmetrical configuration about the central axis of the mounting element, said configuration provided by the arms being radially irregular with at least one reverse from radially concave to radially convex contour.

7. A surface-treating wheel comprising a mounting element having a flat radially disposed mounting surface for rotation on a central axis, a surface-treating member of flexible solid disk-shaped material having a plurality of radial notches extending in from the periphery thereof to divide said member into a series of spaced radially extending arms, said arms having respective mounting faces at one axial end thereof all lying in a common plane and lying flatwise against said mounting surface of said mounting element, means securing said mounting faces to said mounting surface, said arms being of an axial extent beyond said securing means equal to at least a major portion of the circumferential extent of the arms at the periphery of said member to provide for substantial lateral displacement of the axial other ends of said arms, said arms having working faces at their said axial other ends which define an axially symmetrical configuration about the central axis of the mounting element, said configuration provided by the arms being radially irregular with at least one reverse from radially concave to radially convex contour, and a peripheral guard wall projecting axially from the mounting surface and of axial extent at least equal to a major portion of the axial extent of said arms, but said guard wall terminating axially inwardly from the working faces of said arms, and said surface-treating member being made of soft rubber.

8. A surface-treating wheel comprising a mounting element having a flat radially disposed mounting surface for rotation on a central axis, a surface-treating member of flexible solid disk-shaped material having a plurality of radial notches extending in from the periphery thereof to divide said member into a series of spaced radially extending arms, said arms having respective mounting faces at one axial end thereof all lying in a common plane and lying flatwise against said mounting surface of said mounting element, means securing said mounting faces to said mounting surface, said arms being of an axial extent beyond said securing means equal to at least a major portion of the circumferential extent of the arms at the periphery of said member to provide for substantial lateral displacement of the axial other ends of said arms, said arms having working faces at their said axial other ends which define an axially symmetrical configuration about the central axis of the mounting element, said configuration provided by the arms being radially irregular with at least one reverse from radially concave to radially convex contour, said securing means comprising clamps extending between adjacent arms and secured to said mounting element and overlying portions of said surface-treating member to clamp the same to said mounting element.

9. A surface treating wheel adapted for treating an irregular surface, comprising a treating member of flexible material having an irregular work face generally corresponding intaglio to the irregular surface to be treated and having a plurality of generally radial notches of relatively longer radial extent and having generally radial notches of lesser radial extent interposed between said radial notches of relatively longer radial extent, said member having a mounting face and a plurality of radially extending opposed anchoring abutments integral with said member and extending into said notches adjacent the mounting face for clamping mounting of the member.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 63,740 Myers et al. Apr. 9, 1867 144,744 Cottrell Nov. 18, 1873 396,812 Faber Jan. 29, 1889 425,897 Morrison Apr. 15, 1890 436,892 Harrington Sept. 23, 1890 494,471 Gardner Mar. 28, 1893 546,025 McKim et a1. Sept. 10, 1895 592,730 Green Oct. 26, 1897 774,612 Stead Nov. 8, 1904 1,706,402 Hawn Mar. 26, 1929 1,832,190 Doane Nov. 17, 1931 2,105,175 Anderson Jan. 11, 1938 2,129,019 Mulvihill Sept. 6, 1938 FOREIGN PATENTS 349,193 Italy June 9, 1937 

